Week 74 - Thanksgiving

Okay so I have spent the past 40 minutes trying to log into my email. It appears that the church is changing a few things with some of the things in the church. One of them is they just had maintenance on the email and online stuff and it appears that now there are a few problems. I have to log on about 50 times and then it would just take me right to the same login page. But here I am and I don't have a ton of time so this will be short.

This week was intense! Thanksgiving was alright. We got together as a zone and because many of us were american we decided to have a thanksgiving dinner. We had everyone bring their own stuff and it actually turned out pretty well. These computers aren't letting me upload pictures but I will try and send pictures as soon as I can. But the problem was we had a few other people from other countries so we also had rice and hot sauce there which was a little weird but it still turned out alright.

Every day this week we went to a different zone as a mission and did what we call a cosecha. We just had a ton of people working in one area. I think I have mentioned it before. It was amazing and we saw a ton of miracles but the best part was how we got over 50 people ther in two cars and neither of them were like a school bus or anything like that. It was incredible and I will send pictures when I can. We fit 20 people in a 12 seater van.

This upcoming week is going to be amazing. We are going to have the area president come and basically run the mission for a few days. It starts on wednesday with a meeting of all the zone leaders and he will be leading it so I am super pumped to see what happens.

I am sorry I can't answer another question this week because I don't have time but I realized what I was trying to say last week. I love being a representative of Christ because I have never tried so hard to live as he lived and apply his attributes to my life. It literally is life changing.

Cabo looked so much fun and I am super jealous! I love yall a ton! I got the package and it is perfect! Oh quick thing, the church and the mission changed the way they charge us for the packages and now it is a lot more difficult and we have to pay for the package upfront. I have heard from many missionaries about something called DHL. I think it is another company but I don't know much about it. Could one of yall look into it and let me know really what it is and we can decide if it is a better option? But the package was PERFECT as always!

I love yall and miss yall so much! That is INSANE that Emma is already home. Cassie goes home this week and I am just freaking out that people are starting to go home! Time goes by too fast!!!

Have an amazing week!!

Elder Robertson

Week 73 - The greatest part of serving a mission

Yep, I am glad it seems that everything is cooling down there in the states. Here it is still hot and humid and the temperature isn't changing all that much. It is kind of weird because it makes the seasons seems a lot shorter just because there is no way to judge it by the weather. One day it is September and then BOOM almost the end of November.

This week was back to normal! Just a lot of good ole fashion missionary work. We had a lot of contacts. We decided together as a companionship that most of the investigators we had weren't progressing so we decided to drop most of them and start over. It has been hard but we have been finding a ton of people! I am super excited to start to work with all of them in the upcoming week.

One awesome thing that happened this week was the baptism of Yendri! He was an investigator who was actually in the area of the Sisters. But they were having a lot of problems with him like finding and teaching him and helping him get baptized so we decided to help out! We ended up teaching him a lot and preparing him for baptism and he asked me to baptize him which was super special for me! He is a super awesome kid and because of some crazy scheduling for his dad we ended up having to do the baptism before church at 8 in the morning! It was crazy but kind of cool because he got confirmed literally 20 minutes after he got baptized. He is a great kid who I think is going to help the church in Sabana a lot.

Okay so dad asked me a list of questions and I don't have time to answer them all but I think over the next few weeks I am going to take one or two and try and answer them. I will just start at the top and work my way down.

What has been the greatest part of serving a mission so far?

That is a super hard question to answer. There have been SO many great parts. I have loved learning a new language, I have loved working a long side with other great missionaries and people, I have loved serving the people here with all of my heart, might, mind and strength. I don't know if I can fully say the one thing that has been my favorite part about serving a mission but I can definitely talk about one of them. I would say one of my favorite parts is having the insanely huge privilege of, probably a once in a lifetime privilege, of bearing the title and being a literal representative of Jesus Christ. There are so many things that a missionary can do just because of that title. Now in no way do I want to try and compare myself to Him because that would be apostacy and impossible, but I think the experience has helped me in a few ways. One is that I have been able to understand the Atonement in a way that I never have before. I can't share everything I have learned obviously because there is a lot. But because I bear His name I have tried to understand His life. I have studied the Atonement and felt like I have received much personal revelation about overcoming weaknesses and improving through that great sacrifice. One of the other things that I love about it, is through the guidance of the Spirit, and in the right settings, I can make a promise in the name of Jesus Christ. It is so much more powerful than just a normal promise. An investigator can feel such a greater assurance that the blessings of keeping a commandment will come to pass with a sure promise in the name of Jesus Christ. It isn't the easiest thing to explain but it definitely has been one of the greatest things on the mission which I think is that feeling you feel leave you after your mission which I am really not looking forward to.

Okay I think there is only time for one right now but we are about to head back to our area. I love yall! I am super jealous about the trip to Mexico again! But I am super happy that yall are having so much fun!!

I will try and send pictures when I get back because I don't have a way to connect my camera right now!

Have an amazing week and and amazing Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey for me!!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 72 - A/C and Hot Showers

OHHKayyyy there was a LOT that happened this week. All of the interesting stories will probably be after this long next paragraph.

I LOVE my new area. I have learned that it is more enjoyable to work out in areas like this for a few reasons. One is because during the afternoon it is too hot to be in their houses so EVERYONE is just sitting outside so it is so easy to go talk to people. My companion Elder Bigler is awesome and has a huge desire to work so I think we will work well together. I forgot my camera so pictures will be coming next week.

But this past week has been quite a rollercoaster. The day of transfers we had a meeting with the Stake President so we couldn't go out to our area because it is so far away from the capitol so we had to stay in the MTC that night. It was so weird and we felt like we were staying in a hotel. We were with the other Zone Leader and his companion so it was the four of us. We ended up getting out of the meeting at about 9:30 (Presidnet Smith was with us and drove us home) and we didn't get to the MTC until about 10:15. We got to the room and there was air conditioning!!! That night was SO COLD! When I woke up in the morning we were FREEZING!! It was so awesome! But then the best part, the MTC has a water heater and I took like a 30 minute shower in SUPER HOT water!! It felt SOOO good! And then we finally got going and got back up to our area and the day was so HOT! It was a weird day because we are super high up and normally the sun isn't out. Which sure enough almost every other day was COLD. But only for the first half of the day because then you start sweating and because it is always raining it is super humid so you get HOT. But it's okay because an old missionary left his tiny air conditioning unit in the house which doesn't work very well but if you keep a fan on you you can actually wake up COLD. But then the worst part is because the sun is never out, the water is SUPER COLD!! AAAANNDD we don't have running water in this house so, it's back to bucket showers :). Man I am SO PUMPED for this transfer! I love the area a ton! There are a lot of animals here and yesterday we had a dog come to church and sit in sacrament meeting and no one really cared.

Okay but just for time and more important things I need to stop there and tell three stories. And all of them take place on the same day. But just to set the context, we had a visit from a few really special people in the DR and one is the area president Elder Civic, and in his talk he promised us that that day would be a day we would never forget, he was right.

So the big news and most important is that Elder Cook from the quorum of the 12 came to the DR. Unfortuantely he came to Santiago and it is too far to travel so we could only watch it via transmitioin but it was still awesome. I could talk about so many things that he said. But after he talked I had an overwhelming confirmation that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only true and restored church on the Earth. It was such an overwhelming feeling and nothing could deny it. But he told us something insane. He talked a lot about the church in Kirtland and when Jesus visited it and accepted it. Then he talked about how we shouldn't always share our most spiritual experiences but he had recently decided to share some broad details especially to us missionaries, then he said, "I KNOW THE SAVIOR'S FACE AND I KNOW THE SAVIOR'S VOICE." We all freaked out. The way he said it was so intense and I could feel the spirit so strong in the room. He told us that almost always the church is led and directed by the Prophet under the direction of the Spirit, but in certain matters, like temples and missionary work, "He lets his will be known." How awesome is it to know that every type of manual or rule or anything that pertains to missionary work comes directly from the Lord! It was an experience I will never forget.

But then we left and as always happens when you have a spiritual experience, someone tries to ruin the feeling. As we were walking to the bus to go back home we were walking with four other missionaries. Two sisters and two elders. We were aproaching the bus and the two sisters get on and so does my companion. The other two elders stayed back to by a coke and they were a little bit behind us. As I was about to get on I saw a commotion happening behind the bus and it looked like a cop and a hatian were fighting! (Intelligently, I still hadn't gotten on the bus) All I saw was a cop with a gas mask coming with a shotgun and then another cop put on a mask and then I just saw a TON of pepper spray in the air. I wasn't in the direct like of fire because I was off to the side but that stuff HURTS! It got in my eyes and throat and I jumped onto the bus. The other two elders got hit worse because they were closer but basically I got pepper sprayed as a missionary.

The last story and this one is probably the shortest but the sisters were planning to have a baptism that night (I am in a branch with 6 missionaries) but the baptismal font hadn't been emptied out from the last baptism and it was NASTY! The water was high and filled with some green things and the water was all mucky. Us and the other two elders went to go see what we were going to do about it because the sisters had to go visit some people. The water was nasty and we couldn't get the plug up. It was a push plug but the problem is that it didn't come up high enough for the water to go down. In the end we decided that the only option was that someone was going to have to get in and go put something under the plug to hold it open. The lot fell on the other zone leader. But the problem is that the water would have ruined any type of clothes especially white clothes in they got in it. So we found the only things we could turn into a makeshift swim suit, a white plastic bag. So he stripped down and got into the font and the bag didn't really serve much and as he went down into the water the bag fell off. So that is the story of how an elder went skinny dipping in a baptismal font.  But we did get it cleaned out finally.

I love this country and I love this mission! I love all of yall!! HAve a great week!!

Love,

Elder Robertson

Week 71 - I'm Moving to the Boonies

Howdy Yall!!

I'm going to be a dad again! Well...a step dad. Transfers came and I am leaving Ralma. For the first real time in my mission I am going to a "campo" which is basically what we would call "out in the boonies." I am headed to the zone Almirante Campo to the area Sabana Grande de Boya. I am going to stay as a zone leader out there but I am also going to finish the training of an Elder named Elder Bigler. I talked a little bit with the other zone leader who is out there right now and he said the area is awesome and there are a lot of horses, pigs and cows. He says the hardest part is getting people to come to church just because it is so far away. He also told me that I am going to see the weirdest and craziest things on my mission out there. I AM PUMPED!!

I have been focusing a lot on the importance of the Spirit lately. I haven't forgotten what President told me in our first interview, that we had over 2000 converts in our mission last year and not one single ward has been created. And what Elder Andersen said when he came to our mission, that sometimes we can lead people to baptism too quickly before they fully understand what it is or have a testimony. It is actually a big controversy in our mission. A lot of people argue about when is the right time to baptize someone. Because there are people here who are willing to be baptized as soon as they possibly can. There was a girl in Valiente named Chandra, not sure if yall remember her. She got baptized in two weeks because her desire was so strong.

I don't have a set opinion on when the right time is but I do have a set opinion on what needs to happen first. And this isn't coming from me but it is coming from an Apostle. Before baptism one needs to feel the spirit through true repentance, and one needs to feel a spiritual confirmation that the Book of Mormon is true. Both of those things require the Spirit. So that is what I have been focusing on and I definitely have seen some interesting changed in my life. When I first got here I felt like I could just convince people that this is true and really try and do it my way which to quote Jacob in his sermon in 2 Nefi 9, "Mi sabiduría es locura, y de nada me sirve." This work is not mine, or any missionary's, this work is the Lord's and the only way to have success is by doing it His way.

And I have seen a change, even if the people still are being a little difficult, I have seen a change in me which is really the goal here. As I have said before, President is focusing a lot on consecration. I have a LONG way to go before I can say that I am fully consecrated, but as I have been trying, and taking the steps to get there. I have been seeing changes in my personal desires. I have been trying to seek the Lord's will more than mine and really try and do what he would have me do. And let me tell you, it is a way better way to do missionary work.

On Saturday Elder Cook is going to come to Santiago and visit the missionaries and we are going to watch it by broadcast so I am PUMPED to see what he has to say! More on that next week!

There aren't any super awesome stories from this past week. It is going to be interesting because I will probably be out in the campo for Christmas and the Christmas call but I am so excited to get to work out there.

I love yall! Have an amazing week!

Love,

Elder Robertson